美國在台協會梅健華處長記者會 - 2015年10月27日

OT-1525C | 2015年10月29日

文字稿摘譯（全文英文）

梅處長：大家午安，感謝各位出席今天的記者會。我先簡短講幾句話，然後把大部分時間留給各位提問。

美台關係對美國至關重要。我們擁有共同的基本價值，包括對言論自由的承諾，並且尊重新聞自由在促進公共事務討論中所扮演的角色，所以我對媒體朋友的工作十分敬重。

雖然我才到任不久，但是我外交生涯中長期致力於強化美國和亞洲的關係，並且制訂相關政策，確保雙方的緊密連結不斷地延續下去。如同歐巴馬總統所說：「美國是個太平洋國家，這點永遠不會改變。美國的安全與繁榮和這個區域的未來密不可分。」

過去幾個月來，我和家人親身體驗到大家所說的，台灣已經轉變為亞太地區最有活力的地方之一。

鞏固美國和台灣人民長久以來的友誼，一直是美國亞洲再平衡戰略中重要的一環。我們的友誼奠基於歷史、共同的價值，以及我們對民主、自由市場、法治、和人權的共同承諾。美國和台灣之間雖然是非正式關係，但是從過去到現在都不斷成長茁壯。

在我接受各位提問之前，我想跟各位分享幾個例子，說明美台夥伴關係的強度和重要地位。

台灣是美國的重要夥伴，一同與區域內各個國家合作推動良好治理、人權、和民主自由，而美國也非常重視我們之間的夥伴關係。

在我赴台到任後不久，我們很高興能宣布美國國務院連續第六年將台灣在其年度《人口販運報告》中列為第一列，反映了台灣在打擊人口販運方面的持續努力，更彰顯了台灣對於保障人權的堅定承諾。

六月一日，就在我到任前不久，美國和台灣啟動了《全球合作暨訓練架構》（GCTF），一同開展培訓和能力建設的合作計畫，讓亞太地區等地的其他國家能夠受惠。八月，台灣主辦了簽署GCTF後的首次合作活動，為亞太地區十多個國家提升了因應中東呼吸症候群冠狀病毒感染症（MERS）大規模爆發的能力。我們在十二月會舉行第二次GCTF活動，主要為強化登革熱的預防和因應能力。

美國和台灣在2014年啟動了《國際環境夥伴計畫》（IEP），又是一個美國和台灣在區域和全球重要議題上廣泛合作的例證。透過IEP，台灣在東南亞已經舉行了多場環境訓練課程，推動了《城市清潔空氣夥伴專案》，鼓勵亞太地區各城市一起為減少全球空氣污染而努力。

我們也很重視台灣在「對抗伊斯蘭國全球聯盟」中的參與，為因應伊斯蘭國在中東地區所造成的人道危機做出了許多貢獻

除此之外，台灣還付出了許多努力，努力提升其國際能見度，在全球各地贏得尊嚴和尊敬。我們非常肯定台灣對因應各種全球挑戰所做出的重要貢獻。

美國和台灣之間深厚的民間關係是雙邊堅強關係的基礎。美國在台協會透過主辦各種推廣交流活動、音樂演出、和研討會來提倡文化交流。幾週前，我在「丹尼‧波爾世界音樂日」當天見到了很多在座的媒體朋友，那是北台灣最大的戶外音樂會。今年的音樂會集結了15個音樂團體與數千位愛好音樂的朋友，一同展現對包容和新聞自由的支持。

美國在台協會也繼續努力讓台灣公民赴美旅行、留學、和洽商更為便利。台灣是美國大學院校的第六大外國學生來源，若以人口比例來算是第四大來源，以台灣而言是相當驚人的數字。

大家可能也知道，美國在台協會今年要迎接台灣加入美國免簽證計畫三週年，我們舉辦了一個攝影大賽來慶祝這項成就。2012年11月，台灣成為亞太地區第七個、全球第38個加入美國免簽證計畫的經濟體，赴美可享90天的免簽證待遇。自此之後，台灣赴美人數成長了逾40％。美國在台協會經常將攝影大賽之類的活動訊息發布在我們的臉書專頁，我也非常喜歡在我們的臉書專頁上和台灣的朋友交流，我邀請各位都來加入我們的臉書。

幾週前，美國和台灣的貿易主管機關甫結束第九屆美台《貿易暨投資架構協定》（TIFA）聯席委員會會談。美國副貿易代表何禮曼（Robert Holleyman）來台參加TIFA會談是一個加深雙邊經貿對話，鞏固長久經貿關係的絕佳機會。TIFA未來仍會是擴展雙邊貿易與投資關係的重要機制，涵蓋了美台雙邊利害關係者關切的各項貿易與投資議題。

我們支持台灣積極與多個經貿夥伴加強貿易與投資關係的各種作為。在今天複雜的全球化經濟背景下，多角化的經濟發展，避免過度依賴任何單一的貿易夥伴，才是審慎的策略。我們也樂見台灣海峽兩岸近年來為緩和緊張局勢、改善兩岸關係所採取的各種措施。我們鼓勵北京和台北當局以尊嚴和尊重為原則，繼續進行具建設性的兩岸對話。

就任美國在台協會處長這三個月以來，我有幸和馬總統及其他資深官員會面，也見到了各個總統候選人和幾位縣市首長，以及商界和非政府組織的多位代表。每次和他們的會面我都獲益良多，從中得到很多如何加強美台合作的靈感。

自我到任以來，有人問我，希望在台灣的任期中達成什麼。我告訴他們，我希望在我離任時，台灣人民能確知美國就是台灣最好的朋友，而且美國會持續支持台灣，在台灣擘劃其未來時與台灣同在。

我就先說到這裡。不好意思，我講了這麼多，但我非常高興能來到這裡。在座很多人可能知道，我太太也是一名記者，所以如果我不開記者會的話，她可能會找我麻煩。說真的，我很高興能在這裡跟大家見面，希望接下來的時間我們能有非常愉快的交流。

謝謝。

Press: Debby Wu from Nikkei Asian Review. You mentioned when you depart you hope that Taiwanese will see Washington, America as [inaudible] best friend. I’m just wondering, well with the ongoing U.S. effort to boost ties with Taiwan, with the Obama administration’s rebalancing efforts in Asia. But do you think that Washington’s continuing efforts to boost relations with Taipei, particularly with a possible upcoming pro-independence and pro-democracy DPP government, will be seen to, as a provocative act towards Beijing, and then could it be raising tensions in a region that’s already has lot of instability regarding what’s going on in South China Sea and making Taiwan again Asia’s most important flashpoint? Thank you.

Director Moy: I don’t believe that. I think that Taiwan being a vital part of our rebalance is really a key to the peace and stability in the Asia Pacific Region.

We oftentimes when we engage with both sides, we talk about this as not being a kind of zero-sum game where if we improve relations with one side it doesn’t come at the expense of the other. In fact, we believe that engaging with both sides is very very much a positive and should be in the interest of capitals in Beijing and Taipei. So no, I don’t think that is a worrying point for me. I think that we will continue to forge positive relations. That’s what I’m here to do. And I think that in the end that will benefit the region as a whole. Thank you very much.

Press: My name is Jane Lee, I’m from ICRT the radio station.

Director Moy: Hi, Jane. How are you doing?

Press: I’m pretty good, thank you.

I’m sure you must be aware that there is a U.S. naval vessel, the USS Lassen that entered the South China Sea this morning. And they are challenging, at least that’s what the international media are reading, they are challenging China’s claim of the 12 nautical mile territorial waters. And since Taiwan has claimed many times that we have sovereignty over the Spratly Islands which includes the two reefs that the USS Lassen was trying to enter this morning. And so I was wondering if our government has been notified of this incident in advance. And what kind of purpose or goal the U.S. is trying to accomplish?

Director Moy: Thanks for your question.

I think it’s probably best, because of the nature of what you’re talking about, to refer those types of questions to our Department of Defense to respond to.

What I can say is that as a general matter I think the President has said this very clearly, that we will continue to operate in accordance with international law. And so I think we should just probably leave it at that. But again, we refer you to Department of Defense for more specific questions about the specific incident you’re referring to.

Press: My name is Yu-tzu Chiu from BNA.

My question would be about bilateral trade and economic relations. You just mentioned TIFA talks had very successful results earlier this month. My question is that do you see possible impact being made by KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s visit in November on bilateral trade relations? Is it possible to resolve any dispute such as the U.S. pork issue? Thank you.

Director Moy: I think there are a couple of questions in there. To answer the question about the KMT Chairman, I think as all of you know, we had an opportunity to meet last week and so what I told him during that meeting is that we welcome him to the United States at a time that’s appropriate.

We engage with all of the political parties here, all the major political parties, and I think that we do have a very strong relationship. And we will treat all of the political parties, all of the candidates on an equal footing with equal respect. That’s pretty much what I told him.

In terms of the topics that he discusses, I don’t really care to speculate on that because we’re too far into that, we’re very early in any discussion about a trip. So usually what happens is a little bit later to discuss issues. But I would imagine that any discussions would be private and we would have a chance to, I think you would have the best chance to raise with him what he intends to raise.

Press: Kyodo News, Shu-ling Ko. My question is about Japan. Japan has recently passed controversial security bills that will allow the country’s troops to fight overseas for the first time since the 2nd World War. So how do you see Japan’s changes in policy regarding the use of its Self Defense Forces, and how do you see such changes affect Taiwan? Thank you.

Director Moy: That’s a question I think that it’s sort of best to ask people here in Taiwan how it’s going to affect Taiwan. I think overall our relationship with Japan is a very positive one and something that we’ve been very proud of. Since the end of World War II we’ve been able to forge a very close relationship, an alliance relationship, and it is deeply embedded in our rebalance policy. We are firmly strengthening our relationship with all of our alliance partners including Japan, including Korea, Australia, and others, Philippines and others. So I think that this is a reflection of how far we’ve come in our relationship. But with regard to your other question about its effect on Taiwan, I think that’s probably best you ask that question of the Taiwan authorities.

Press: Thank you. I’m Cindy Sui from the BBC. I’ll use English, if you don’t mind.

I wanted to ask you about your opinion about the, you just mentioned that the U.S. has always supported constructive dialogue between Taiwan and Mainland China. Given that we’re only about three months before the presidential election and there are many opinion polls that show Tsai Ing-wen leading. And as far as I know, there’s no dialogue right now between the DPP and the Communist Party of China, any kind of dialogue at all between the two sides.

Is the U.S. concerned at all that the relationship between the two sides will be at a stalemate that would deteriorate? And --

Director Moy: I’m sorry. Can I ask you a question? I’m not sure I quite understood. Are you saying that there’s no dialogue between the two sides?

Press: The DPP and the CCP.

Director Moy: I see. Okay. I’m sorry. Please continue then.

Press: I’m curious if the U.S. government is concerned. If Tsai Ing-wen does win the election, would relations, cross-Strait relations deteriorate? And what would Washington do to try to promote strong ties between two sides and continuation of dialogue that we’ve seen in the past eight years?

Director Moy: What I can say about that is that we have said many times that we favor, we praise the dialogue between Beijing and Taipei because we believe that it has increased peace and stability across the Strait. So not only has it increased the peace and stability between the two sides, but we also believe that it’s contributed to the peace and stability throughout the entire region. So we are very very supportive of that.

That said, we believe that dialogue between the two sides should come at a pace, a scope, in a manner that is consistent with the desires of the people on both sides of the Strait, and that’s really an important thing.

So I think that it’s too early to speculate about the relationships that you were referring to. There’s a long way to go before this election. I don’t think that we want to get involved.

I think if there’s one thing we want to really emphasize, or I want to emphasize today is that there is an election in January and we should be, we are all in admiration of Taiwan because of the democracy that has been established here and that’s taken hold. And we ought to let the people of Taiwan make the decision. The United States is not going to get involved in any side, in choosing sides. We’re not in the business of doing that in elections overseas.

But I really think that to address those questions we would have to make sort of a leap forward in discussing that and I don’t think that’s really where we want to be. But we still do want to encourage a dialogue going back and forth. A continuance of the warming of relations because we, again, believe that it does help contribute to the peace and stability here.

Press: [[Through Interpreter] I’m Tang Pei-chun from the Central News Agency.

You have mentioned TIFA earlier that the 9th TIFA Council Meeting was held in Taipei. We learned that U.S. pork is the sole sticking point in the U.S.-Taiwan trade relations. Could you please elaborate on this U.S. pork issue?

Director Moy: I don’t think it would be accurate to say it’s the sole sticking point. We are discussing a broad range of issues and certainly agriculture would be one of those issues that we discussed during the TIFA Council Meetings.

I should refer back to what Ambassador Holleyman was saying after those discussions, and that is that certainly overall we are very pleased with the results of the discussions because we addressed everything, or a pretty broad agenda of issues, and that includes intellectual property, it includes pharmaceuticals and these kinds of issues.

So I don’t think it would be accurate to say that the United States is solely concentrating on one area.

Nonetheless we should say that on the specific issue of agricultural issues, we believe that Taiwan has work to do.

We encourage all of our trading partners around the world to implement food policies that are consistent with international standards and food policies that are science-based. We were unable to make as much progress as we would have liked during those discussions on that issue, but I know that we will continue the discussions down the road in the hopes of getting resolution.

If I can take a step back maybe to put into context the importance of these discussions in TIFA, though. Because my experience is that both sides gain a greater confidence when we discuss those issues that are difficult and challenging domestically. Here I think that what we'd like to do is build momentum in our trade relationship. This is what the United States is very much interested in and I know that Taiwan is very interested in joining regional economic integration and agreements that integrate Taiwan into the region.

If that is indeed the case and that is Taiwan’s desire, and I have every reason to believe it is, then it does have some work to do.

Press: My name is Marcus Hsiang from Formosa TV. I do my question in Chinese.

[Through Interpreter] I’m from FTV.

We know that under the U.S. rebalance to Asia strategy, the U.S. has strengthened its alliance with South Korea and Japan. So what kind of role would Taiwan play in this strategic alliance?

Also, will Taiwan be given the opportunity to participate in the RIMPAC exercise next year?

Director Moy: On the first question, I would say that any sort of discussions among East Asia countries in terms of security I think benefit the security. I don’t think that we should be discussing or we need to discuss Taiwan’s role in all of these sort of strategic issues per se. I think instead what we should point out, the continuing dialogues, the very positive dialogue among the militaries and the positive effect that will have on the region.

With regard to the second question, I just think that we engage in an increasing number of types of training events that benefit the Taiwan side and reflect our continued full commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act. That is something that has really pleased the U.S. over time.

Press: [Through Interpreter] I’m from Phoenix TV.

You mentioned earlier that the United States encourages a dialogue across the Taiwan Strait and you also mentioned that you have met with President Ma, Eric Chu, Tsai Ing-wen and James Soong. So currently Tsai Ing-wen’s proposal is to maintain the status quo. In the U.S. view, is the 1992 consensus the only viable option or do you think that it is okay to just say that to maintain the status quo?

Director Moy: I know, at the risk of sounding sort of like a broken record, I guess we don’t have records anymore so I don’t know what the modern-day parlance is. But we have said in public and fairly frequently that we support a dialogue between the two sides that leads to greater peace and stability. And I think that for us to comment on something, I think that question is best meant for others, but the United States hopes that there is a dialogue that yields fruitful results, and we continue to say that.

Again, it has to be, or it is a dialogue that should come at a pace and a scope that people on both sides of the Strait feel comfortable with. We do oppose unilateral actions. That has been our view for quite a long time now, that changes the status quo.

Press: [Through Interpreter] Taiwan Century News. There is a presidential candidate who proposed signing a cross-Strait peace accord. Do you think that is a good idea? And will that have any conflict with the Taiwan Relations Act?

Director Moy: Again, it would be speculating on my part to talk about agreements or proposed agreements that we’re really not a party to.

As I said earlier, there should be a dialogue on both sides that leads to a better understanding, leads to a warming of relations.

Now it also should come, it should be consistent with the aspirations, what the people on both sides of the Strait want, and those desires must be heard and must be understood.

So I think that is really the important part, that both sides of the Strait are comfortable with something like that, but it’s really speculative on my part because I’m really not familiar with what that involves, what you’re discussing involves.

Press: Good afternoon, sir. This is ETTV Huang Wei-han speaking. And I would like to present my question in Chinese, thank you.

[Through Interpreter] Mr. Huang from ETTV.

There is an issue that Taiwan people are currently talking about which is an identification card in the U.S. issued for people in poverty. And I’m wondering if there is really such an ID card.

Also you said you have met with Tsai Ing-wen and Eric Chu. Could you please give us your assessment of both of them?

Director Moy: A card that indicates poverty, did you say? Boy, I’m not really sure what that is. If you have more specifics we might be able to get back to you. Somebody can probably get back to you on that. It’s interesting, though, I hadn’t really heard that one. Maybe I should get such a card. I don’t know.

But I’ve had an opportunity to meet with all the candidates and I have to tell you, I know that this is going to sound like I’m trying to be like a diplomat in this case, but I have to tell you that each of the candidates are very very capable. I have nothing but the most positive impression of all of them. They’re extremely skilled, smart, thoughtful leaders, and it really is up to the people of Taiwan to make the decision. They each have their own experiences they bring to this. And just the fact that they’ve come this far and that they have expressed the desire to lead Taiwan in the next few years, I think that says a lot for all of them in terms of their commitment to public service, and for that as a public servant myself I have nothing but deep admiration for anyone who does that.

Just to conclude that thought though, the reason I’m here, the reason why all of my colleagues are here from AIT is to make sure that we forge a strong relationship with whomever wins. I have every confidence that we will develop very strong relations with whoever wins in January, and that we will continue to build on what is already a strong relationship. I have every confidence, and I think that the people of Taiwan should have every confidence that the United States will continue to forge this strong and enduring relationship.

Press: [Through Interpreter] Mr. Chen from Apple Daily.

Director, you mentioned that during the 9th TIFA Council Meeting that both sides did not achieve as much as they liked on agricultural issues. Is that issue the MRL for Ractopamine in U.S. pork? So does Taiwan need to resolve this issue before being able to participate in TPP?

Director Moy: As I said earlier, and this is based on what Ambassador Holleyman said, that we encourage all of our trading partners to implement or apply food policies that are of international standards and are science-based. So I think we should leave it at that.

The talks are very complex because that’s the nature of trade discussions. Again, what the Ambassador was saying is that concluding these kinds of agreements or making progress on TIFA talks does have a lot to do with building confidence of trading partners.

Now as it applies to something like TPP, I think this is very important. As I said earlier, we do believe that Taiwan has some work to do.

What it should do right now and what I would recommend, and look, I’m just you know, a government official here talking about this. People can take it with a grain of salt. But I would invite people in Taiwan, Taiwan authorities here, to review the TPP documents when they are published and that should come up fairly soon, and see what Taiwan has to do and if it still has the desire to pursue TPP in a possible expansion down the road.

That’s what we would recommend, to take a look at that, to see what kind of standards, the high standards that we have been talking about since really the establishment of the idea, the concept of TPP.

If Taiwan determines that it wants to continue in this effort, we would also strongly recommend that Taiwan engage with the 12 parties or the 12 members of TPP and not simply look to one or two countries. But this is a consensus kind of grouping, and Taiwan, as I understand, wants to become a part of this kind of regional integration or economic integration and in that, because it does, it should be engaging with all parties.

So we’re going to call this the consensus of 12.

Press: [Through Interpreter] I’m from Public TV.

Eric Chu said that he would discuss his U.S. visit with you and he also said that the courtesy, the treatment he receives will be as high as that of Madame Tsai. So would he visit the Department of State, Washington D.C., any other federal government agencies?

Director Moy: It’s too early to talk about specific parts of the schedule, but what I told Chairman Chu is that we maintain very strong relations with all the parties and we will make sure that we engage with each of the parties on equal footing, and we mean that very sincerely, and we have every intention of accomplishing that on this visit.

Just to finish off as clarification, we normally don’t talk about aspects of the schedules of private individuals or officials. That’s not something normally that the U.S. government will do. So I think it should be sufficient to say that we have every intention of fulfilling what we’ve already said is our commitment and that is to treat all parties equally.

Press: [Through Interpreter] Ms. Lu from TVBS.

I know that you met Hung Hsiu-chu before as well when she was the presidential candidate and then later on you met with Eric Chu. Hung Hsiu-chu didn’t have any plans to visit the U.S., but Eric Chu does. Would this change the U.S. view of this presidential election or of the presidential candidates?

Director Moy: It won’t change our policy of not taking sides. Again, we’re not in that business. We are confident enough as should all people be confident enough in the democracy here in Taiwan to let the people of Taiwan decide. And so that hasn’t really affected our thinking at all.

Thank you.